Garlic Cremini Mushroom Risotto

My hubby is feeling a little under the weather today. I wanted to give him some comfort food. Risotto is one of his favorite dishes; I make it very often when it's cold. It's very creamy, cozy and hearty. The basics of the risotto is always the same, typically you'll add 2 to 3 ingredients to the base to create your own signature risotto.

Directions

In a deep saucepan, get garlic cloves golden in oil. Transfer the cloves on a plate and set aside. In the same saucepan, add shallot, stir until light golden, then saute the mushrooms for about 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of parsley. Remove from the heat and transfer to the same plate with the garlic cloves.

In the same saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of butter and wait until it bubbles. Add the garlic until light golden, then add the pasta and rice. The butter should coat all the grains. Pour 1 cup of broth and stir constantly.

After bringing the liquid to a boil, add garlic powder and cheddar then lower the heat to medium low for about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt. Check the liquid and periodically add 1/4 cup of stock when all the liquid is absorbed. Let simmer for another 15 minutes.

When rice is almost cooked, add mushrooms and parmesan cheese and remaining butter. Adjust seasonning with salt and pepper.

Spray some truffle oil and sprinkle parsley and more parmesan before serving.

Bon appétit!

Tips

I think mixing macaroni to the arborio rice brings a lot more starch. The most similar shaped pasta to arborio rice is the melon seed shaped one. I buy the Mexican brand, El Mexicano "Semillas". It is sold in a 7 oz pack.

Coating each grain in butter prevents them from sticking to one another.

I lowered the salt because I added mushroom powder which is already salty. You can fin mushroom powder in specialty stores.

You can also use chicken broth, which is actually the more standard way of preparing risotto. My hubby is a vegetarian so I use vegetable broth.

To get a cheesy flavor and yellow color without the stringy cheesy bits, add it right after boiling the broth.

It's important to pour ladleful of warm stock. The key is to incremently pour the liquid and never let the dish dry out, it would burn the rice at the bottom.

For this dish, I used exactly 6 1/4 cups of broth. The quantity of liquid may vary depending on the heat of the stove and how long you're cooking the rice. At the end, I let it simmer uncovered, sometimes adding another 1/4 cup of liquid until I achieve the right consistency and level of doneness. I like the rice al dente, not all mushy.